New six wicket bench at Moe ‘fantastic’New six wicket turf bench at the Ted Summerton Oval in Moe has been acclaimed as fantastic by Secretary of the Central Gippsland Cricket Association. By Latrobe City Council - 4th April 2001 - Back to News A new six wicket turf bench at the Ted Summerton Oval in Moe has been acclaimed as fantastic by Matt Clarke, Secretary of the Central Gippsland Cricket Association.
Mr Clarke made his comments during an inspection of the ground last Thursday with Robert Sim, Secretary of the Moe Cricket Club, and Latrobe City Councillor, Tony Zimora.
Mr Clarke said the work undertaken by the Moe Cricket Club was a win for country cricket and a win for local football, saying that if the turf continued to be maintained in the present fashion, Moe would be able to host premier VCA games and attract first class cricket.
Moe Cricket Club Secretary, Robert Sim, said the result of the turf wicket work was impressive, thanks to a dedicated group of members and volunteers who had pitched in to do the physical work, finance the club had raised, a community grant from Latrobe City Council and a grant from the Victorian Cricket Association.
“For three weeks in a row, members and volunteers dug drains and shifted tonnes of soil. While the seed was taking, there were some extremely hot days and we had to water the grass every two hours to avoid losing it,” Mr Sim said.
“Holey Plains soil was imported to the site, and laser levelled. John Mann made an extraordinary commitment to the project, compacting the bench with heavy machinery, and the result is a wicket as hard and as flat as any in the municipality,” Mr Sim said.
“The Holey Plains soil dries out better than alternatives and as can be seen from the condition of the grass and the way it is knitting, and the result is an exceptional wicket.
Councillor Tony Zimora said Moe had been handicapped by a concrete wicket that was no longer an acceptable standard for competitive sport.
“When the football season starts, the concrete is covered with sand, but it never provides an acceptable surface for play, and the risk of ankle and other injuries means that Moe is unable to host top class games,” Cr Zimora said.
“The provision of the new turf bench wicket at Moe ensures that both football and cricket at Moe continues to flourish. This has been a great example of Latrobe City and a sporting club working together to upgrade a facility and bring it up to first class grade,” Cr Zimora said.
Mr Clarke added that the upgrade at Moe meant that the Central Gippsland Cricket Association would start the 2001/2002 season with all A Grade sides competing on turf wickets except Trafalgar.
“Eventually we would like to see the whole competition play on turf, and with only Trafalgar to go, the future for cricket in the region is very bright,” Mr Clarke concluded.
Source: www.gippsland.com Published by: latrobecity@gippslander.com

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